Steam air garment finisher

ABSTRACT

A batch box steam air finisher having the operating advantages of typical batch box finishers while yet further having the operating advantages of typically high cost tunnel-type finishers. This disclosed finisher has an enclosure with an internal completely confined conveyor for carrying garments in single file individually past specific conditioning discharge means and specific air whip drying means, and also has additional conveyor means for automatically loading and/or unloading a batch or group of garments into or from the enclosure and specifically into the control of or from the control of the confined conveyor automatically, whereby a common finishing cycle can finish more than one garment.

[451 0ct.,l0, 1972 United States Patent Beeley et al.

2,880,878 4/1959 Collette......................2l1/1.5 3,644,085 2/1972Beeley ....223/70X et m an M am T Gm .n Mm mm Primary ExaminerJohn J.Camby Lake City, both of Utah [73] Assignee: McGraw-Edison Company,

Assistant ExaminerHarry B. Ramey Attorney-Charles F. Lind Elgin,

[57] ABSTRACT A batch box steam air finisher having the operatingadvantages of typical batch box finishers while yet further having theoperating advantages of typically [22] Filed: May 3, 1971 [21] App].No.: 139,458

high cost tunnel-type finishers. This disclosed finisher has anenclosure with an internal completely confined conveyor for carryinggarments in single file individually past specific conditioningdischarge means and specific air whip drying means, and also hasadditional conveyor means for automatically loading and/or unloading abatch or group of garments into or from the enclosure and specificallyinto the control of or from the control of the confined conveyor auto-[56] References cued matically, whereby a common finishing cycle canUNITED STATES PATENTS finish more than one garment.

2,845,786 8/1958 Chrisman.....................68/5 C 16 Claims, 7Drawing Figures PATENTEDnm 10 um sum 1 OF 3 y pson lnven'rors MichealGBeele Richard D.Thom

PKTENTEDHBI 10 I972 SHEET 3 BF 3 Eom w STEAM AIR GARMENT FINISHER Infinishing many types of garments, it is necessary frequently only tosubject the garment to a conditioning fluid such as steam which softensthe material fibers and thereafter to dry the garment with a flow ofheated dry air. The concept has been commercially practiced both withwhat is termed a tunnel-type finisher and with what is termed abatch-box type finisher.

In the tunnel-type finisher, a conveyor carries a garment typically hungon a hanger or like form through a finisher unit that is opened at bothends, where the inlet end provides a conditioning type chamber ofatmosphere and where the opposite outlet end provides a drying chamberor atmosphere. The advantages of this type finisher are that successivegarments are typically conveyed in a single file parallel orientationwhere the conditioning fluid typically of steam can be dischargeddirectly against the garment for thorough penetration and conditioningof the garment; while thereafter the garments again as conveyed insingle file can pass between relatively narrow drying chamber tunnelwalls where drying air can be circulated at a relatively high velocityover the garment to shake or flap the wrinkles from it.

In a batch box finisher, a cabinet defines an enclosure and means areprovided for holding a garment within the enclosure and then subjectingthe entire enclosure to an atmosphere of conditioning fluid, typicallysteam, for conditioning the garment and thereafter for venting theenclosure and passing a drying fluid, typically heated air, over thegarment. The combination of the steam atmosphere and air movement overthe garment, plus possibly some mechanical shaking of the garments by anauxiliary shaker unit, result in an adequate finishing of most garments.Typically the cabinet is sufficiently large to finish more than onegarment in a common finishing cycle.

One advantage the tunneLtype finisher has over the batch box typefinisher is effective steam conditioning; since the steam can bedischarged directly against the garment as it is passed single filethrough the tunneltype finisher conditioning chamber, whereas thegarments in the batch box finisher normally are hung side by side andthereby can only be subjected to an atmospheric-type conditioning fluidand not to direct discharge. However, the counterpart advantage thebatch box finisher has over the tunnel-type finisher is it requiressignificantly lower boiler horse-power since the steam confinement ismore on a lingering basis in the batch box finisher than in atunnel-type finisher, and consequently the costs are less and the batchbox finisher is much more suited for smaller installations such asneighborhood cleaning centers rather than industrial finishing plants.

It still appears however, that the tunnel-type finisher has betterfinishing characteristics than the batch box type finisher possiblybecause of the direct discharge conditioning of the garments and becauseof the high velocity air whip drying, which typically cannot beduplicated by merely passing additional volumes of steam and/or airthrough a batch box finisher.

This invention relates to, and an object of this invention is toprovide, a garment finisher which has characteristics of both atunnel-type finisher and a batch box type finisher, where garments arefinished in groups or batches in a common finishing cycle but where thegarments are individually subjected during this common finishing cycleto direct steam conditioning and/or to high velocity air whip drying.

Another object of this invention is to provide a garment finisher havingan enclosure and having a conveyor system completely confined within theenclosure for carrying garments individually supported thereon andsuccessively through specific conditioning and dry ing areas, whereupondesired finishing characteristics can be obtained.

Another object of this invention is to provide means for systematicallyloading garments onto or unloading garments from the internal orenclosure confined conveyor system noted in the preceding object, wherea group of garments can be loaded by an operator onto an auxiliaryconveyor outside the finisher enclosure, where thereafter the auxiliaryconveyor and garments as loaded thereon can be brought to inside thefinisher enclosure and the garments first automatically loaded onto theconfined conveyor system, and then automatically unloaded from theconveyor system onto an auxiliary receiving unit and collected, andwhere thereafter the auxiliary receiving unit and garments collectedthereon can be removed from the finisher enclosure.

These and other objects of this invention will be more fully understoodand appreciated after referring to the following specification, theaccompanying drawings forming a part thereof, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the subject finisher with part of theexterior casing being broken away for clarity of disclosure;

FIG. 2 and FIG. 2a are plan type views as seen generally from line 2-2in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an elevational type sectional view as seen generally from line3-3 in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an elevational type view as seen generally from line 4-4 inFIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is an elevational type view as seen generally from line 5-5 inFIG. 3, except with the mechanism in an alternate position; and

FIG. 6 is an elevational type view as seen generally from line 6-6 inFIG. 5.

The finisher unit 10 shown has a casing 12 with opposed end walls 13,opposed front and rear walls 14 and 15, and opposed bottom and top walls16 and 17, thereby defining an enclosure 20 which is generally closedexcept for an access opening 22 in the front wall 14. A closure door 24is mounted by vertically located pivot pins 26 for rotation about thecenter of the door 24 within the access opening 22. When the door 24 isclosed, being aligned with the front wall 14, the enclosure is notnecessarily air or steam tight but only nominal steam or air leakageoccurs from the enclosure 20.

A conveyor 30 is mounted adjacent the casing top wall 17 being entirelywithin the enclosure generally as a loop. The conveyor can be of anyknown construction, but is shown here as having end sprockets 32 aboutwhich a typical link chain 33 is trained. A split pipe 34 can surroundthe chain with clearance to provide underlying support therefor atlocations apart from the sprockets, the pipes in turn being connected bybrackets 35 to the casing. Secured to the chain across selectivelyspaced single links of the chain and depending from the pipe split areclips or brackets 36,

each of which has a flat vertical surface and tab 37 which inclinesupwardly from the surface outwardly of the conveyor loop 30. A hangerhooks over each tab 37 and there are 6 or 8 brackets 36 equally spacedaround the loop 30 to support the adjacent garments parallel to theconveyor runs while having edge clearance between them. A guide bar 43is supported outwardly spaced adjacent the clips below the tabs 37 toengage the hanger and keep it flat against the clip and parallel to theconveyor movement.

The conveyor has runs 38 and 39, and a partition 40 extends from thebottom wall 16 to the top wall 17 between the runs. A pair of steamtubes 42 are located on opposite sides of the conveyor run 38 and extendalmost between the bottom wall 16 and top wall 17. The tubes dischargesteam generally toward the conveyor run 38 and slightly in the samedirection as the conveyor movement away from the opening 22; whichminimizes leakage of the steam from the opening. A wall, 44 faces thepartition 40 along a portion of the conveyor run 39, and the wall andpartition define an air whip type drying tunnel 46. The distance betweenthe partition 40 and the wall 44 preferably is only 4 inch to 6 inch sothat a garment carried on the conveyor aligned parallel to the conveyorjust fits with only slight clearance with the walls. A blower 48 issupported from the rear of the casing and has its inlet opening 49 todraw in the outside ambient air which is then discharged to within apassageway or duct 52 defined by walls and 44 and walls 53 therebetween(FIG. 2). A hood 55 above the top wall 17 turns the air flow in the duct180 for discharge from top opening 56 downwardly to within the unittunnel 46. A gear motor unit 58 is mounted on the top wall 17 andconnected to one sprocket shaft 59 for rotating the sprocket 32 keyedthereto and for powering the conveyor 30; and a motor (not shown) isalso provided for powering the blower 48.

During the normal preferred finishing cycle of the unit thus fardescribed, a plurality of garments are loaded or hung from the conveyorbrackets 36 and carried around the enclosure on the conveyor 30. Duringthe conditioning phase of the cycle, steam is discharged from steamoutlet pipes 42, which thereby is directed against the individualgarments as the garments are successively passed between the pipes.Moreover, the entire enclosure assumes a steam-like atmosphere whichfurther thoroughly conditions the garment. The duration of theconditioning cycle and conveyor speed are preferably such that eachgarment passes between the steam discharge tubes 42 at least once, butthe same might happen two, three or even more times for thorough garmentconditioning. After the conditioning phase of the cycle has concluded,the blower 48 is operated and a plurality of vent openings 60 (FIGS. 1and 2a) located in the top wall 17 of the unit are uncovered, the samenormally being closed by .a gravity type damper plate 61. A heatexchanger 62 (FIG. 2) is located in the air duct 52 so that the air isheated before being discharged into the enclosure 20, to vent theenclosure atmosphere and further to dry the garments therein. During thedrying phase of the conditioning cycle, the air discharge is at a highvelocity downwardly to within the air whip or drying tunnel 46 andpasses directly over the garment therein which vibrates rapidly andshakes the wrinkles out. The duration of the drying phase of thefinishing cycle again is sufficiently long that each garment passesthrough the tunnel unit 46 at least once and possibly many more timeswhere the garment is subjected directly to the high velocity air forshaking the wrinkles from it. The entire enclosure 20 also serves as adrying chamber since the air is circulated therein before eventuallybeing vented from openings 60.

Specific means for both automatically loading and unloading the garmentsfrom the finishing unit conveyor 30 will not be described. The door 24,it has been noted, is mounted for at least 180 rotation about centralpivot means 26 and thereby has opposing faces 66 and 67 which areinterchangeable toward the enclosure or outwardly away from theenclosure. Similar sets of indexing and receiving structures 68 and 69respectively are mounted on each face, so to simplify the disclosure,reference will be made to one set of the structures.

The indexing structure 68 includes a shaft or rod 70 that slopesdownwardly from adjacent the upper edge of the door generally alignedbelow the upper central pivot pin 26 and extends to where its terminalend 71 is inwardly beyond and slightly spaced above the tab 37 of theconveyor 30 (FIG. 3). The shaft 70 has formed thereon a plurality ofpins 74 and 76, which pins 74 are all aligned with one another andspaced uniformly along the shaft and which pins 76 are likewise allaligned with one another and uniformly spaced along the shaft but instaggered relation to pins 74 and roughly at 90 offset from them. Theshaft 70 is journaled in bracket 77 for rotation through approximately90 so that the pins 74 which are normally on the top of the shaft can bemoved to one side, and the pins 76 which are normally on the oppositeside of the shaft can be moved to the top (FIG. 4). A lug 78 is providedon the shaft to abut the bracket to limit the shaft rotation, and atension spring 80 connected between the lug and bracket tends to returnthe shaft to its normal position, as above noted, where the pins 74 areoriented on the top side of the shaft. A power cylinder 82 is connectedon the top wall 17 of the casing 12 with its rod 84 protruding throughan opening 85 in the top wall and abutted against the lug 80 keyed onthe shaft 70. Actuation of the power cylinder 82 thereby rotates theshaft through approximately so that the pins 74 are now on the side andthe pins 76 are now on top of the shaft.

In normal use, an operator can hang the hook of a conventional hangeronto the shaft 70, which ordinarily would permit the hanger to slidedown the shaft under the influence of gravity, except the hanger isrestrained by the vertically oriented pin 74. There typically would bethe same number of pins 74 on the shaft 70 as there were holdingbrackets 36 on the conveyor 30, and a hanger can be hung on the shaftfor each pin 74. Merely by rotating the door the loaded shaft 70 iscarried to inside the enclosure and specifically points toward theconveyor 30 in a position to release each hanger successively onto theadjacent conveyor clips 36. To accomplish this, the power cylinder 82 isactuated to rotate the pins 74 to the side which releases all hangers,the lower most release pin thereby permitting its hanger and garmentthereon to drop onto the corresponding tab 37 of the conveyor (FIG. 3).When the shaft is so indexed, all pins 76 correspondingly are rotated tonow be on the top so that each of the remaining hangers slides down fromthe pin 74 until restrained by the next lower now vertical pin 76. Asthe power cylinder 82 is released and the spring 80 returns the shaft toits normal position, each hanger is once again released (this time bypin 76) to slide down the shaft until restrained by the next lower nowvertical pin 74. For smooth and fast transfer, the conveyor 30 ispreferably moving at its set rate all the while, and the shaft isindexed so that by proper adjustment the lower most hanger istransferred onto the passing clip 36. A switch 87 can be triggered by acam plate 88 rotated by sprocket shaft 59 (FIG. 1) to actuate the powercylinder 82 automatically, the switch being connected in an appropriateindexing circuit (not shown) so that each hanger as originallyrestrained on a shaft pin 74, would be released onto a separate conveyorclip 36. Preferably the circuit would be such that after all hangers hadbeen released from the unloading mechanism 68, the indexing circuitwould become inactive.

It is noted that there are two such indexing or release mechanisms 68located on opposite sides of the door 24 so that while the one mechanismis inside the enclosure the other mechanism 68 is located outside of theenclosure and an operator can be loading unfinished garments onto themechanism for the subsequent finishing cycle.

As has been noted, located beneath each of the indexing mechanism 68there is supported a receiving mechanism 69. This structure is quitesimple and includes a bar 90 pivoted at its lower end about bracket 92for movement between a generally vertical position (phantom 9OU in FIG.3) and an upwardly inclined lowermost position (phantom 90D in FIG. 3).In this lowermost position, its free end 93 is outwardly spaced from theline of the conveyor 30 so that it avoids any interference with thehangers and garments carried by the conveyor 30. The bar is not stablein its vertical position 9OU and tends to fall to its lowermost position90D but can be easily held in any intermediate position 9OI (FIG. 3)such as against the uppermost garment on the indexing mechanism 68.

A push-off or unloading mechanism 95 is provided in the cabinet 12 forconveyor 30. The mechanism 95 includes a bar 96 supported by shaft 98which in turn is rotatable in bushing 99. As supported, the bar 96 isgenerally horizontal and in line with the stem or neck portion of thehanger as carried on the bracket 36 of the conveyor. The bar 96 isnormally held by a spring 100 connected between the casing and a lug 101keyed to the shaft in a retracted position (FIG. 3) where there is nointerference with a hanger carried onthe conveyor so that the hanger canmove unrestricted therepast. However, the bar can be shifted by means ofa power cylinder 102 connected between the lug 101 and the casing tocross the line of the conveyor 30 where it vertically clears theconveyor bracket 36 but engages the stem portion of the hanger on theconveyor. The hanger thereby is moved by conveyor movement upon engagingthe crossing bar 96 upwardly along its supporting tab 37 of the bracketuntil it drops off such tab and falls onto a pin 104 carried by the bar96. The pin 104 is inclined downwardly slightly with its free endaligned vertically over and extended outwardly beyond the receiving barin its lowermost position so that the hanger drops off the pin 104 ontothe bar 90 and slides down the bar until restrained against the door oranother garment already on the bar. An unloading circuit (not shown) canbe provided to be completed automatically if desired at the end of thedrying phase of the finishing cycle to actuate the power cylinder 102and hold the unloading mechanism crosswise to the path of movement ofthe conveyor 30 until all hangers are transferred from the conveyor.This might be sensed by a limit switch (not shown) in the unloadingcircuit that is actuated to release said circuit after one completerevolution of the conveyor 30 the limit switch being actuated by a camplate (not shown) connected by an appropriate speed reducing gear train(not shown) driven by the sprocket shaft 59.

In like manner, there is a receiving bar 90 located on each side of thedoor so that it is ready to receive and hold the garments as finished inthe cabinet 12 without having to shift the position of the door. It ispossible then to shift the door 180 where the operator can unload thefinished garments on the outside receiving mechanism 69 (FIG. 1) andthen load unfinished garments onto the overlying index mechanism 68,while a subsequent finishing cycle can concurrently be started onunfinished garments previously hung on the now inside indexing mechanism68.

Means can also be provided for powering the door through its 180movement, such means including for example a power cylinder connected torack 112, the rack being guided by slide 113 to engage and rotate a gear1 l4 keyed to the pivot pin 26 of the door. By appropriate adjustment ofstops (not shown) engageable with the rack, for example, actuation ofthe power cylinder to one end position will move the rack andconsequently rotate the door to a first closed position while actuationof the power cylinder to its other end position will rotate the door afull from said closed position to its opposite second closed position.

It is possible to provide a control started by manual actuation of astart button for rotating the door and beginning the operation of theconveyor 30. Thereafter where the door is in its new closed position assensed, for example, by limit switches engaged by the rack 1 12, thecontrol can begin the unloading from indexing mechanism 68 and start theconditioning cycle. The conditioning cycle including the appropriatesteaming and drying phases thereof can be controlled by adjustabletimers. At the conclusion of the finishing cycle, the control canautomatically actuate the unloading mechanism power cylinder 102 forreturning the garments from conveyor 30 to the support of the door onthe receiving mechanism 69, and thereafter automatically rotating thedoor once again and repeating the above for a second consecutiveconditioning cycle. At the end of this finishing cycle, after allgarments have been collected on the inside mechanism 69, the blower 48would merely be stopped but the door would not be rotated and nosubsequent finishing cycle would begin unless started by the operator.This means that an operator can load one support mechanism 68, start thefirst finishing cycle and in the next few seconds unload the other sideof the door then load it, and then leave the finisher unattended whilethe first and then a second finishing cycle occured: only then beingrequired to return to the finisher to unload all finished garmentscarried on the door.

What is claimed is:

l. A steam air finisher operable during a single finishing cycle forfinishing a plurality of garments each individually held on a hanger orgenerally like form, comprising a cabinet defining an enclosure havingan access opening, a door for closing the opening, a first conveyorlocated entirely in the enclosure and having means for holding thehangers and garments thereon, means for operating the first conveyorwhereby the hangers and garments thereon are carried throughout theenclosure, means operable for conditioning the garments and meansoperable for drying the garments, said conditioning means and saiddrying means each being disposed in the enclosure and each being on bothsides of the first conveyor, a second conveyor carried on the door andhaving means for holding a corresponding plurality of hangers andgarments thereon as there might be held on said first conveyor, thesecond conveyor being disposed outside the enclosure when the door is inone operative position whereby an operator can readily load the hangersand then unfinished garments thereon onto the second conveyor and thesecond conveyor being disposed inside the enclosure and proximate thefirst conveyor when the door is in another operative position andclosing the access opening, means for operating the second conveyor whenthe door is in the other operative position whereby the hangers andgarments thereon are transferred from the second conveyor to the firstconveyor, means carried on the door and being proximate the firstconveyor when the door is in its said other operative position forreceiving the hangers and garments thereon from the first conveyor,means for releasing the hangers and garments thereon from the firstconveyor for transfer to the receiving means, and the receiving meansbeing disposed outside the enclosure when the door is in the said oneoperative position whereby an operator can readily unload the hangersand now finished garments thereon from the receiving v means.

2. A garment finisher according to claim 1, wherein the cycle forfinishing the garments includes a conditioning phase and a drying phasewhere the respective conditioning means and drying means are separatelyoperated and each operation being of such duration that every hanger andgarment thereon on the first conveyor individually passes the respectiveconditioning means and drying means.

3. A steam air finisher according to claim 1, wherein means are providedfor moving the door under power between the two operative positions.

4. A steam air finisher according to claim 1, wherein said door hasthereon two complete sets of respective second conveyors and receivingmeans, thereby being operable when the door is in its one and otheroperative positions of presenting one each of the second conveyors andreceiving means in said indicated relation with the first conveyor.

5. A steam air finisher according to claim 4, wherein the door ispivoted about a central pivot whereby movement between the operativepositions is rotational and whereby the door closes the access openingin each operative position.

6. A steam air finisher according to claim 1, wherein the releasingmeans is located inside the enclosure and is movable between anon-interferring position and an operative releasing position relativeto the hangers as carried on the first conveyor, and means for actuatingthe releasing means between said positions.

7. A steam air finisher operable during a single finishing cycle forfinishing a plurality of garments each individually held on a hanger orgenerally like form, comprising a cabinet defining an enclosure havingan access opening, means for closing the opening, a first conveyorlocated entirely in the enclosure and having means for holding thehangers and garments thereon, the loading and unloading of hangers andgarments thereon onto and from the first conveyor being through theaccess opening, means for operating the first conveyor whereby thehangers and garments thereon are carried throughout the enclosure, meansoperable for conditioning the garments and means operable for drying thegarments, said conditioning means and said drying means each beingdisposed in the enclosure and each being on both sides of the firstconveyor, said conditioning means including means for discharging steamfrom opposite sides of and toward a path of movement of the firstconveyor and directly against the garments as they individually passtherebetween on the first conveyor, said drying means including closelyspaced walls extended generally parallel to and facing from oppositesides thereof a path of movement of the first conveyor, and said dryingmeans also including means to draw in air, means to heat the air, andmeans to discharge the air to between the spaced walls at a relativelyhigh velocity for flow over and past the garments as they individuallypass therebetween on the first conveyor.

8. A garment finisher according to claim 7, wherein the cycle forfinishing the garments includes a conditioning phase and a drying phasewhere the respective conditioning means and drying means, are separatelyoperated and each operation is of such duration that every hanger andgarment thereon on the first conveyor individually passes the respectiveconditioning means and drying means.

9. A garment finisher according to claim 7, further including a secondconveyor located outside the enclosure and operable to pass through theaccess opening to inside the enclosure whereby an operator can readilyload the hangers and then unfinished garments thereon onto said secondconveyor to be carried thereon through said access opening to inside theenclosure and proximate the first conveyor, and means for operating thesecond conveyor whereby the hangers and garments thereon are transferredfrom the second conveyor to the first conveyor.

10. A garment finisher according to claim 7, further including meanslocated inside the enclosure and operable to pass through the accessopening to outside the enclosure, whereby said last named means canreceive hangers and garments thereon inside the enclosure from the firstconveyor and carry them through the access opening to outside theenclosure to be unloaded by an operator.

11. A garment finisher according to claim 10, further including meansfor releasing the hangers and garments thereon from control of the firstconveyor for transfer to the control of the receiving means.

12. A steam air finisher operable during a single finishing cycle forfinishing a plurality of garments each individually held on a hanger orgenerally like form, comprising a cabinet defining an enclosure havingan access opening, a door for closing the opening, means mounting thedoor for rotation about its centrally located vertical axis whereby thedoor closes the access opening in each of two operative positionsapproximately 180 rotatably apart where one door side faces inside theenclosure and the opposite door side faces outside the enclosure, andvice-versa respectively, means carried on the door and projected fromboth the one and opposite door sides thereof for holding the hangers andgarments thereon whereby in each operative position a hanger holdingmeans is inside the enclosure and a hanger holding means is outside theenclosure, and means in the enclosure operable for conditioning thegarments and for drying the garments.

13. A steam air finisher according to claim 12, wherein means locatedinside the enclosure is operable to accept control of the hangers andgarments thereon from the hanger holding means and to convey the hangersand garment thereon to an orientation relative to one another within theenclosure different from the corresponding orientation while on thehanger holding means.

14. A steam air finisher according to claim 13, wherein said hangerholding means is disposed to hold the hangers and garments thereon inthe orientation where they are in adjacent packed front to rear fullwidth relation, and wherein said conveying means is disposed to hold thehangers and garments thereon in the orientation where they are inadjacent extended or edge to edge generally aligned relation.

15. A steam air finisher operable during a single finishing cycle forfinishing a plurality of garments each individually held on a hanger orgenerally like form,

comprising a cabinet defining an enclosure having an access opening, afirst conveyor located entirely in the enclosure and having means forholding the hangers and garments thereon, means operable forconditioning the garments and means operable for drying the garments,said conditioning means and said drying means each being disposed in theenclosure and each being on both sides of the first conveyor, means foroperating the first conveyor whereby the hangers and garments thereonare carried throughout the enclosure and individually and sequentiallypast the conditioning means and the drying means, a second conveyorhaving means for holding hangers and garments thereon, the secondconveyor in one position being disposed outside the enclosure whereby anoperator can readily load the hangers and the then unfinished garmentsthereon and adapted to pass through the access opening to anotherposition and disposed inside the enclosure proximate the first conveyor,means for operating the second conveyor whereby the hangers and garmentsthereon are transferred from the second conveyor to the first conveyor,means for releasing the hangers and garments thereon from the firstconveyor, and means operable for receiving the hangers and garmentsthereon from the first conveyor and carrying same through the accessopening to outside the enclosure whereby an operator can readily unloadthe hangers and now finished garments thereon from the receiving means.

16. garment finisher according to claim 15,

wherein the cycle for finishing the garments includes a conditioningphase and a drying phase where the respective conditioning means anddrying means are separately operated and each operation is of suchduration that every hanger and garment thereon on the first conveyorindividually passes the respective conditioning means and drying means.

1. A steam air finisher operable during a single finishing cycle forfinishing a plurality of garments each individually held on a hanger orgenerally like form, comprising a cabinet defining an enclosure havingan access opening, a door for closing the opening, a first conveyorlocated entirely in the enclosure and having means for holding thehangers and garments thereon, means for operating the first conveyorwhereby the hangers and garments thereon are carried throughout theenclosure, means operable for conditioning the garments and meansoperable for drying the garments, said conditioning means and saiddrying means each being disposed in the enclosure and each being on bothsides of the first conveyor, a second conveyor carried on the door andhaving means for holding a corresponding plurality of hangers andgarments thereon as there might be held on said first conveyor, thesecond conveyor being disposed outside the enclosure when the door is inone operative position whereby an operator can readily load the hangersand then unfinished garments thereon onto the second conveyor and thesecond conveyor being disposed inside the enclosure and proximate thefirst conveyor when the door is in another operative position andclosing the access opening, means for operating the second conveyor whenthe door is in the other operative position whereby the hangers andgarments thereon are transferred from the second conveyor to the firstconveyor, means carried on the door and being proximate the firstconveyor when the door is in its said other operative position forreceiving the hangers and garments thereon from the first conveyor,means for releasing the hangers and garments thereon from the firstconveyor for transfer to the receiving means, and the receiving meansbeing disposed outside the enclosure when the door is in the said oneoperative position whereby an operator can readily unload the hangersand now finished garments thereon from the receiving means.
 2. A garmentfinisher according to claim 1, wherein the cycle for finishing thegarments includes a conditioning phasE and a drying phase where therespective conditioning means and drying means are separately operatedand each operation being of such duration that every hanger and garmentthereon on the first conveyor individually passes the respectiveconditioning means and drying means.
 3. A steam air finisher accordingto claim 1, wherein means are provided for moving the door under powerbetween the two operative positions.
 4. A steam air finisher accordingto claim 1, wherein said door has thereon two complete sets ofrespective second conveyors and receiving means, thereby being operablewhen the door is in its one and other operative positions of presentingone each of the second conveyors and receiving means in said indicatedrelation with the first conveyor.
 5. A steam air finisher according toclaim 4, wherein the door is pivoted about a central pivot wherebymovement between the operative positions is rotational and whereby thedoor closes the access opening in each operative position.
 6. A steamair finisher according to claim 1, wherein the releasing means islocated inside the enclosure and is movable between a non-interferringposition and an operative releasing position relative to the hangers ascarried on the first conveyor, and means for actuating the releasingmeans between said positions.
 7. A steam air finisher operable during asingle finishing cycle for finishing a plurality of garments eachindividually held on a hanger or generally like form, comprising acabinet defining an enclosure having an access opening, means forclosing the opening, a first conveyor located entirely in the enclosureand having means for holding the hangers and garments thereon, theloading and unloading of hangers and garments thereon onto and from thefirst conveyor being through the access opening, means for operating thefirst conveyor whereby the hangers and garments thereon are carriedthroughout the enclosure, means operable for conditioning the garmentsand means operable for drying the garments, said conditioning means andsaid drying means each being disposed in the enclosure and each being onboth sides of the first conveyor, said conditioning means includingmeans for discharging steam from opposite sides of and toward a path ofmovement of the first conveyor and directly against the garments as theyindividually pass therebetween on the first conveyor, said drying meansincluding closely spaced walls extended generally parallel to and facingfrom opposite sides thereof a path of movement of the first conveyor,and said drying means also including means to draw in air, means to heatthe air, and means to discharge the air to between the spaced walls at arelatively high velocity for flow over and past the garments as theyindividually pass therebetween on the first conveyor.
 8. A garmentfinisher according to claim 7, wherein the cycle for finishing thegarments includes a conditioning phase and a drying phase where therespective conditioning means and drying means are separately operatedand each operation is of such duration that every hanger and garmentthereon on the first conveyor individually passes the respectiveconditioning means and drying means.
 9. A garment finisher according toclaim 7, further including a second conveyor located outside theenclosure and operable to pass through the access opening to inside theenclosure whereby an operator can readily load the hangers and thenunfinished garments thereon onto said second conveyor to be carriedthereon through said access opening to inside the enclosure andproximate the first conveyor, and means for operating the secondconveyor whereby the hangers and garments thereon are transferred fromthe second conveyor to the first conveyor.
 10. A garment finisheraccording to claim 7, further including means located inside theenclosure and operable to pass through the access opening to outside theenclosure, whereby said last named means can receive hangers andgarments thereon insiDe the enclosure from the first conveyor and carrythem through the access opening to outside the enclosure to be unloadedby an operator.
 11. A garment finisher according to claim 10, furtherincluding means for releasing the hangers and garments thereon fromcontrol of the first conveyor for transfer to the control of thereceiving means.
 12. A steam air finisher operable during a singlefinishing cycle for finishing a plurality of garments each individuallyheld on a hanger or generally like form, comprising a cabinet definingan enclosure having an access opening, a door for closing the opening,means mounting the door for rotation about its centrally locatedvertical axis whereby the door closes the access opening in each of twooperative positions approximately 180* rotatably apart where one doorside faces inside the enclosure and the opposite door side faces outsidethe enclosure, and vice-versa respectively, means carried on the doorand projected from both the one and opposite door sides thereof forholding the hangers and garments thereon whereby in each operativeposition a hanger holding means is inside the enclosure and a hangerholding means is outside the enclosure, and means in the enclosureoperable for conditioning the garments and for drying the garments. 13.A steam air finisher according to claim 12, wherein means located insidethe enclosure is operable to accept control of the hangers and garmentsthereon from the hanger holding means and to convey the hangers andgarment thereon to an orientation relative to one another within theenclosure different from the corresponding orientation while on thehanger holding means.
 14. A steam air finisher according to claim 13,wherein said hanger holding means is disposed to hold the hangers andgarments thereon in the orientation where they are in adjacent packedfront to rear full width relation, and wherein said conveying means isdisposed to hold the hangers and garments thereon in the orientationwhere they are in adjacent extended or edge to edge generally alignedrelation.
 15. A steam air finisher operable during a single finishingcycle for finishing a plurality of garments each individually held on ahanger or generally like form, comprising a cabinet defining anenclosure having an access opening, a first conveyor located entirely inthe enclosure and having means for holding the hangers and garmentsthereon, means operable for conditioning the garments and means operablefor drying the garments, said conditioning means and said drying meanseach being disposed in the enclosure and each being on both sides of thefirst conveyor, means for operating the first conveyor whereby thehangers and garments thereon are carried throughout the enclosure andindividually and sequentially past the conditioning means and the dryingmeans, a second conveyor having means for holding hangers and garmentsthereon, the second conveyor in one position being disposed outside theenclosure whereby an operator can readily load the hangers and the thenunfinished garments thereon and adapted to pass through the accessopening to another position and disposed inside the enclosure proximatethe first conveyor, means for operating the second conveyor whereby thehangers and garments thereon are transferred from the second conveyor tothe first conveyor, means for releasing the hangers and garments thereonfrom the first conveyor, and means operable for receiving the hangersand garments thereon from the first conveyor and carrying same throughthe access opening to outside the enclosure whereby an operator canreadily unload the hangers and now finished garments thereon from thereceiving means.
 16. A garment finisher according to claim 15, whereinthe cycle for finishing the garments includes a conditioning phase and adrying phase where the respective conditioning means and drying meansare separately operated and each operation is of such duration thatevery hanger and garment thereon on the first conveyor individuallypasses the respective conditioning means and drying means.